My new lifters have just arrived and 'SURPRISE' they are spring loaded ::)

The original ones aren't, I took a couple of them apart to make sure that any springs weren't broken and there was no sign of any springs.

This puts an entirely different slant on the setting procedure.

I think it emphasises what I said in a post sometime ago; I suspect that by the end of '92/ early '93 Opel was scraping the bottom of the barrel and chucking together anything that fitted >:(

melinx:
The new (spring loaded) hydraulic lifters are in and adjusted as per HJB and TIS instructions :)

I have never heard such a raucous clattering from an engine :(

Extensive internet searches reveals a 50/50 split on whether they should be primed with oil before assembly !

My experience says; definitely prime them ;) you are in for a very anxious time if you don't (after doing 50 miles they were still clattering like fury)

After running the engine, it took an overnight stand to allow the oil to seep past the internal non return ball valve and fill the chamber at the bottom of the lifter; they are much quieter this morning !

If anyone ever gets as far as stripping out the lifters; before reassembly I recommend standing them upright immersed in oil, gently pumping the pistons to suck oil into the upper chamber and leave them in the oil for 24 hours to allow the oil to fill the lower chamber.

melinx:
I've had to take it all apart again, strip out all the lifters, take them apart and inspect them >:(

I realised after looking at the site below that a tiny spring that holds the ball bearing non return valve was missing from one that I had to re-assemble after receiving them ( don't ask ::) )

That gave me entirely the wrong impression of how they should be adjusted >:(

Now the fault in that lifter is corrected and all of them set, it is running perfectly with the injectors clicking being the loudest noise coming from the engine :)

The procedure (rightly or wrongly) that I have used is : -

ENSURE THAT NO OIL IS IN THE LIFTERS: If there is, it is not possible to move them down to the 'bottom' position.

Remove the spark plugs and disconnect the battery.

Re-assemble the rocker arms and wind the engine round with a ratchet using the large nut on the crank pulley until the distributor rotor arm is pointing to the plug lead for the cylinder you are adjusting.

Ratchet down the rocker arm adjusting nuts until you can feel no play when lifting the rocker arm at the valve end (the hydraulic lifters have a fairly strong internal spring, so some force is needed)

Do that for each cylinder and I have had excellent results ( so far ;) ) the lifter pressurises within seconds after the engine has started.

Incidentally, DO NOT FORGET TO REMOVE THE RATCHET ON THE CRANK PULLEY BEFORE STARTING THE ENGINE :-[

I still regard the instructions to give the nut one full turn after removing all play as having the potential to burn out the exhaust valves, if you can actually get it started that is: I have measured the valve actually lifting off the seat with that extra turn :o

There is much talk on all the internet sites about 'preloading' the lifters after all play is removed, that is, wind it down a bit more, but they only talk about one quarter to half a turn and that is with push rod systems !

Rightly or wrongly, I adopted the attitude 'sod it' I would rather have it a bit below optimal than have a set of burnt out exhaust valves: The lifters will 'pump up' to adopt the position they want to be in anyway.

The original lifters are in no way hydraulic in the accepted sense; they seem to be a very primitive hybrid between solid lifters and 'proper' hydraulic lifters with the oil pressure merely providing a minimal amount of play adjustment at the start of the lift ???

http://holdenpaedia.oldholden.com/Hydraulic_Lifters

Edit: - After a test run including a bit of motorway, it performs well giving 42 mpg at a steady 70 with a solid 14.7 stoichiometric ratio, AND there is now a perceptible dual ram 'kick' :) :)

I have also eliminated the worrying occasional 'rumble' from the valve rocker area :)

jonnybear:
wow glad you got sorted matey !

sounds like they're the sort of results you were after ! ad getting a daul ram kick too,

are these lifters the same as in the 4 pot ?

i wonder if this 'lifter' problem you have had is perhaps of some sigificance to the people that dont have that kick ?

melinx:
Quote from: jonnybear on March 25, 2009, 03:04:13 PM

are these lifters the same as in the 4 pot ?

i wonder if this 'lifter' problem you have had is perhaps of some sigificance to the people that dont have that kick ?

I'm afraid I don't know if the lifters in the 4 pot are the same crude devices that were in my engine :( I'm no expert, I'm having to learn the hard way ::)I was surprised when I got the replacements to find that they were quite different ??? but the suppliers assure me that they are what is specified !

I hesitate to offer it as a universal explanation/remedy for the loss of dual ram kick, but I certainly couldn't detect it before changing the lifters :-\It certainly winds up to 5,500 rpm very rapidly now :o